Bottle stoppering machine



Jan. 25, 1955 v, c, HALL 2,700,497

BOTTLE STOPPERING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2, 195( 5 Sheets-=Sheet l Fig.4

I N V EN TOR.

Jan. 25, 1955 v. c. HALL 2,700,497

BOTTLE STOPPERING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 25, 1955 v. c. HALL 2,700,497

BOTTLE STOPPEIRING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Mai/4&2

ATYDKNEY stopper can be readily inserted in the bottle.

United States Patent BOTTLE STOPPERING MACHINE Victor C. Hall, Media, Pa., assignor to Merck & Co., Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 2, 1950, Serial No. 142,055

3 Claims. (Cl. 22682) This invention relates to a machine for stoppering bottles, and more particularly to an apparatus of this character which will insert a stopper into the mouth of a bottle after the bottle has been subjected to a vacuum.

In many instances such, for example, as the bottling of biological material, it is necessary that the air be withdrawn from the bottle and that a rubber stopper be inserted while the bottle remains under the vacuum, these steps being accomplished under dry conditions. If water or other lubricant can be present on the stopper, the In many situations, such as is involved in the present invention,

both the bottle and the stopper must be dry. This is important because the entrapment of moisture or other liquid within the bottle may bring about deterioration or other undesirable change in the contents of thebottle.

In the instances in which the stoppering is performed in the presence of steam for sterilization purposes, the insertion of the stopper into the bottle may be readily accomplished. However, under the dry conditions with which the present invention is concerned, considerable difiiculty is experienced in inserting the dry stopper into the bottle. This is especially true if the stopper is made of rubber or similar plastic material which has a high coefficient of friction. An attempt to force such a stopper into the bottle in a direct manner meets with considerable resistance and this often results in tilting of the stopper so that it cannot be inserted at all.

In accordance with the present invention, a machine is provided which readily accomplishes the insertion of a stopper into a bottle under dry conditions. In general, it may be here stated that this is accomplished due to mechanism which imparts a rotary motion to the stopper as it is being'inserted into the mouth of the bottle. The air is first evacuated from the bottle and while this vacuum is maintained, the stopper is inserted into the mouth with a rotary motion.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of Figure 1.

Figure 3a is an enlarged view of the stopper applying portion of the machine, with the parts in their initial position.

Figure 3b is an enlarged view showing the vacuum controlling mechanism in the position corresponding to Figure 3a.

Figure 4a is similar to 3a but shows the parts in the position at the time vacuum is applied to the bottle but before the stopper is inserted.

Figure 4b is similar to 4a but shows the vacuum control mechanism in the position corresponding to Figure 4a.

Figure 5a is similar to 3a but shows the parts in the position in which the stopper has been inserted into the bottle.

Figure 5b is similar to Figure 3b but shows the vacuum controlling mechanism in the position corresponding to Figure 5a.

Figure 6 shows the vacuum controlling mechanism in the position after the stopper has been inserted and when the vacuum is released.

Figure 7 is a sectional view on the line 77 of Figure 3a.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of Figure 3b.

.The bottle 10 which is to be stoppered is placed upon a table top or base plate. 11 which'is supported in any desired manner above the floor. To fix the placing of ice the bottle in the desired location relative to the stoppering machine, positioning plates 12 and 13 are adjustably secured to the base plate 11. This may conveniently be done, for example, by means of the clamping brackets 14 and 15 which may be bolted downwardly against the positioning plates 12 and 13. To accommodate bottles of different sizes, it is merely necessary to loosen the clamping brackets 14 and 15 and reposition the plates 12 and 13, so that they form a socket for the bottle.

The mechanism for applying the stopper into the bottle is supported by an upstanding back plate 16. This is attached to the base plate 11 in any desired manner, as by welding, and its upright position is reenforced by means of the web plate 17.

Attached to the back plate 16 at the upper portion thereof is a forwardly projecting guide plate 18. Passing through the guide plate 18 and the base plate 11 are two vertically moveable rods 19. The guide plate 18 and the base plate 11 serve as bearings so that the rods 19 will be guided in their up and down movements. Connecting the lower ends of the rods 19 is a step plate 21.

A spring 22 is attached to the step plate 21 and to the base plate 11 to urge the rods 19 upwardly. Their upper movement under the influence of this spring 22 is limited by means of the adjustable collars 23 which are attached to the rods 19 near their upper ends. These collars are so positioned upon the rods 19 that they will strikethe guide plate 18 and arrest the upward movement of the rods 19. The rods 19 are moved downwardly by pressure of the operators foot upon the step plate 21.

A cross plate 24 is attached to the rods 19 at points below the collars 23 so that this plate moves with the rods. Slidably mounted upon the rods 19 below the cross plate 24 is a transverse plate 25. Springs 26 are located upon the rods 19 between the cross plate 24 and the transverse plate 25 so as to yieldingly urge the transverse plate 25 downwardly away from the cross plate 24.

To limit the downward movement of the transverse plate 25 along the rods 19, collars 27 are adjustably aflixed to the rods 19 in any desired manner, such as by set screws, for example. It is desired that the springs 26 be. under some degree of compression when the transverse plate 25 is resting upon the collars 27. It should be observed here that the transverse plate 25 can move upwardly along the rods 19 toward the cross plate 24 against the pressure exerted by the springs 26.

The transverse plate 25 carries the parts which make a vacuum tight connection with the bottle, and the parts which insert the stopper into the bottle while this vacuum is maintained. These parts include a sleeve 28 which is mounted within an opening through the transverse plate 25 midway between the two rods 19. The sleeve 28 is attached to the transverse plate 25 in any suitable manner such as by the welding shown at 29, or it may be a press fit.

The sleeve 28 is diametrically enlarged at 31 below the transverse plate 25 so that it will provide a shoulder which bears. against the under side of the transverse. plate 25 so. that downward movement of the transverse plate 25 will carry with it and apply downward pressure upon the sleeve 28. Below the enlarged portion 31 the sleeve 28 is of reduced diameter, as shown at 32.

Mounted upon the reduced portion 32 is an inverted cup-shaped member 33. The cup-shaped member 33 shoul'dfit quite tightly upon the reduced portion 32 so that a substantially air tight contact will be established. To prevent any air leakage, it is desirable that a packing ring 34 be disposed between the cup-shaped member 33 and the enlarged portion 31. This packing ring 34 may, for example, be made of rubber.

The interior of the cup-shaped member 33 is sufliciently large to pass over the neck of the bottle. At the lower end of the cup-shaped member 33 is a sealing gasket 35,

Patented Jan. 25, 19 55.

3 be no or a negligible amount of air leakage along the extenor of the tube 36. The tube 36 is reciprocatable withm the sleeve 28.

At the lowermost end of the tube 36 is an enlarged portion 37 which has a cavity therein to serve as the stopper receiving and retaining recess. It will be observed that theenlarged portion 37 at the lower end of the tube 36 provides a shoulder which bears upwardly against the lower edge of the reduced portion 32 of the sleeve 28 to limit the upward movement of the tube 36.

At the junction between the enlarged portion 37 and the tube 36 is a partition 38 which is apertured at 39. The under side of the partition 38 is provided with radial ridges 40, as is shown in Figure 7. These ridges 40 serve to hold the stopper away from the partition 38 and away from the aperture 39 so that passageways will be established around the stopper and into the aperture 39. It is apparent that other hold-off or spacing means than the ridges 40 may be employed so that the stopper will not bear against the partition 38 and obstruct the flow of air around the stopper and up through the aperture 39.

It may be observed at this point that when a vacuum is applied to the bottle when the parts are shown in the position of Figure 4a, the outward rush of the air from the bottle will carry the stopper 41 upwardly into the recess within the under side of the enlarged portion 37. This recess will therefore serve to position the stopper 41 in axial alignment with the bottle opening so that the stopper can then be pushed down directly into the bottle.

It has been mentioned that a feature of the invention is the provision of means for giving the stopper 41 a rotary motion as it is being urged downwardly into the bottle. This rotary motion is brought about by the formation of a cam groove 42 in the outer surface of the tube 36. The cam groove 42 has a helical shape generally analogous to that of a screw thread but has a steep pitch. A pin 43 extends into the cam groove 42 and this pin 43 may for convenience be carried by a set screw 44 which is threaded into the sleeve 28.

It will be observed that upon axial movement of the tube 36 through the sleeve 28, the engagement of the pin 43 within the groove 42 will serve to rotate the tube 36. The means by which the necessary relative longitudinal movement between the sleeve 28 and the tube 36 is brought about to cause a rotary movement of the tube 36 will be explained later.

Attached to the upper end of the tube 36 is a flexible hose 45. The upper end of the hose 45 is attached to a rigid conduit 46 which passes through an opening in the cross plate 24. The top edge of the hose 45 should bear against the cross plate 24 so that downward movement of the cross plate 24 will also force the flexible hose 45 downwardly. This is important because the cross plate 24 is affixed to the rods 19 and upon downward movement of the rods 19 the flexible hose 45 will also be forceably moved downwardly. It will be apparent, however, that it will not be necessary for the hose 45 to seat against the cross plate 24 if the hose is tightly secured to the conduit 46 and if conduit 46 is fixed to the cross plate 24.

The upper end of the rigid conduit 46 is attached through a hose 47 to a pipe T 48. The side opening of the T 48 is connected to a vacuum gauge 49 through a conduit 50. Conduit 50 is preferably supported by attachment to one ofthe rods 19.

The other opening of the T 48 is connected by a flexible hose 52 to a rigid conduit 53. This rigid conduit 53 is attached to a plate 54 which in turn is secured to the upper end of the back plate 16. The flexible hose 52 permits upward and downward movement of the cross plate 24 which carries with it the T 48.

The apparatus includes means for applying a vacuum to the bottle to be stoppered just prior to the time that the stopper is to be inserted. This involves a source of the vacuum which is not illustrated here as it forms no part of the present invention. It may be sufficient to point out that the conduit 53 is connected to such a vacuum source and that interposed in this conduit is a valve which is not shown. It is desirable that this vacuum control valve be electrically operated so that upon the supply of electrical energy to it, the valve will be opened and the stopper apparatus will be in communication with the vacuum source.

The vacuum controlling mechanism is carried upon the plate 54 which, as has been noted, is attached to the back plate 16. This mechanism includes an actuating rod 57, the upper end of which is slidably guided in a bearing lug 58 attached to the plate 54. The lower end of the rod 57 passes through a bracket 59 which is attached to the cross bar 24.

A spring 61 encircles the topmost part and is interposed between the lug 58 and a washer 62 attached to the top of rod 57. This spring 61 serves to yieldingly support the rod 57 in an upward position. Downward. movement of the rod 57 in opposition to the pressure exerted by spring 61 is caused by engagement of the bracket 59 against an adjustable collar 63 attached to the lower end of rod 57.

It will be noted that in an initial position, in which the cross bar 24 is in an uppermost position under the influence of spring 22, the collar 63 is spaced below the bracket 59. This space is not closed until the cross bar 24 has been moved downwardly such a distance that the sealing gasket 35 has contacted the upper surface of the bottle. This is important to make certain that the vacuum is not applied to the bottle until after engagerbpenlt of the sealing gasket 35 has been made with the Ott e.

A block 64 is attached to the rod 57 at a point between its ends, and this attachment should be adjustable so that the position of the block 64 may be varied. An upright cam latch 65 is pivotally attached to the block 64. At the upper end of the cam latch 65 is an offset head 66 and the upper surface 67 and the lower surface 68 of this offset head 66 are at an acute angle so that they constitute cam surfaces. As here shown, these cam surfaces 67 and 68 are parallel, although this is not a necessary relationship, but they should have the general slope illustrated.

A tension spring 69 is attached to the cam latch 65 at one end and to an upright pin 71 at its other end, this pin 71 being supported by the block 64. To limit the movement of the cam latch 65 under the influence of spring 69 and normally retain the cam latch 65 in an upright position, the stop post 72 is provided. This stop post 72 is attached to the block 64.

Pivotally attached to the plate 54 is 21 depending lever 73. This lever 73 is urged toward the stop post 72 by means of a compression spring 74. Spring 74 is disposed upon a slide rod 75 which passes at one end through a lug 76 carried by the lever 73, and at its opposite end through a guide lug 77 attached to the plate 54. A collar 78 is attached to the rod 75 and the spring 74 bears against this collar 78 to urge the lever 73 against the stop post 72.

At the lower end of the lever 73 is a laterally projecting pin 79. In the initial position of the apparatus this projecting pin 79 underlies the cam surface 68 of the cam latch 65. Because of this relationship, downward movement of the cam latch 65 will cause the surface 68 to exert a camming effect upon the pin 79 and swing the lower end of the lever 73 to the left as viewed in the drawings. When the lever 73 has been moved in this manner sufficiently far, it will strike the actuating pin 80 of the microswitch 81. The switch 81 should be of the type which will thereupon close an electrical circuit which will supply electrical energy through wires (not shown) to the aforementioned valve disposed in the conduit 53. Upon the occurrence of this event, the source of vacuum will be in communication with the tube 36 so that the air contents of the bottle will be evacuated.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

A stopper 41 is first loosely inserted into a bottle 10, and this bottle is then disposed between the positioning plates 12 and 13. The pedal plate 21 is then depressed by the foot and this moves the cross plate 24 downwardly. The transverse plate 25 is also moved downwardly through the action of the compression springs 26 and this brings the inverted cup-shaped member 33 downwardly over the neck of the bottle so that the sealing gasket 35 bears upon the surface of the bottle to make an air tight contact therewith. At this moment the bracket 59 will have just contacted the collar 63 so that the rod 57 will thereafter be moved downwardly.

Further downward movement of the pedal plate 21 will cause the cross bar 24 to move downwardly, but the cross bar 25 cannot move down further because it will be held upwardly by reason of the contact of sealing gasket 35 against the bottle. The initial downward movement of cross bar 24 beyond this point will carry with it the rod 57 and will also cause downward movement of the cam latch 65. This will serve, as has been explained above, to swing the lever 73 so that the microswitch 81 will be actuated. This position is illustrated in Figure 4a and Figure 4b.

The vacuum which is now applied through tube 36 will withdraw air from the bottle and will carry the stopper upwardly into the recess of the enlarged part 37, as shown in Figure 4a.

At this time the operator observes the gauge 49 and as soon as the indicating needle comes to rest, it is known that static vacuum conditions have been established in the system. Thereupon the operator depresses the pedal plate 21 further downwardly and this continues to move the cross plate 24 downwardly. The transverse plate 25 remains at rest during this further downward movement of the cross plate 24 but through the action of the flexible hose 45 the tube 36 is forced downwardly through the stationary transverse plate 25. It will be apparent that the tube 36 is urged longitudinally through the sleeve 28 and that this relative movement will impart rotary movement to the tube 36 due to the action of the cam groove 42 and the pin 43. This rotary movement of the tube 36 is permitted by the hose 45 which can assume the slight necessary twist.

As the stopper 41 is pushed downwardly into the bottle, therefore, the stopper will be given a rotary movement. This is important because the stopper will enter more freely into the bottle and its tendency to twist out of position is eliminated. The pedal plate 21 is depressed until the stopper is entirely in position, as shown in Figure 5a.

In the position of Figure 5a, the vacuum control mechanism is in the position shown in Figure 5b. From this it will be observed that the pin 79 will have passed beyond the top of the cam latch 65 and will have swung to a position above the cam surface 67. Pin 80 is now released and the vacuum connection is broken.

When the foot pressure is now released from the pedal plate 21, the spring 22 will serve to restore all of the parts to their initial upward position. During the consequent upward movement of the block 64, the cam surface 67 will strike against the pin 79 and this will serve to cam the latch 65 out of the way of the passage of the pin 79, as is shown in Figure 6. Continued upward movement of the cam latch 65 will move its offset head 66 above the pin 79 so that the pin 79 can resume its initial position shown in Figure 3b.

The evacuated and stoppered bottle is now removed and a new bottle is positioned in its place for a repetition of these same steps. Because of the simplicity of the apparatus, it will be apparent that it may be operated both effectively and efiiciently for its intended purpose.

It is believed that the equivalent structures will be obvious. For example, instead of having the microswitch 81 establish a circuit when its pin 80 is depressed, depresssion of pin 80 can break a circuit in the microswitch, if the vacuum control valve is of the type which is normally open but is closed under the action of an electric current. In like manner, instead of employing a microswitch and electric circuit, the microswitch 81 can be replaced by the vacuum control valve, and the actuating pin 80 can be the actuating stem of the valve so that when this stem is moved by lever 73 the valve will be directly opened.

Variations in the relative positioning or proportioning of the parts to accommodate bottles of different shapes and sizes will be obvious. For example, the positioning plates 12 and 13 will be readjusted to properly locate the bottle, and the parts 33 and 37 may be of the appropriate shapes.

What I claim is:

1. A bottle vaeuumizing and stoppering machine comprising a bottle support to receive a bottle having a prepositioned stopper therein, an upright sleeve having an inverted cup-shaped element at its lower end to establish a vacuum tight engagement about the mouth of the bottle, a tubular member fitting within said sleeve and both rotatable and moveable longitudinally therein, said member having a recessed portion at its lower end to receive a stopper therein, cam means including a spiral cam and a follower between said sleeve and said member for imparting a rotary movement to said member upon their relative longitudinal movement, said member having a passageway therethrough and around a stopper in its recessed portion for applying a suction to thereby withdraw the stopper from the bottle and into the recess and also evacuate air from the bottle, and means for bringing the cup-shaped element and the bottle into engagement so that said inverted cup-shaped element is in engagement with the bottle and thereafter further urging the member longitudinally of the sleeve and toward the bottle 0 tlliereby rotate the stopper during its insertion in the ott e.

2. A bottle vaeuumizing and stoppering machine comprising a bottle support to receive a bottle having a prepositioned stopper therein, an upright sleeve having an inverted cup-shaped element at its lower end to establish a vacuum tight engagement about the mouth of the bottle, a tubular member fitting within said sleeve and both rotatable and moveable longitudinally therein, said member having a recessed portion at its lower end to receive a stopper therein, spring means for biasing said member so its lower end is urged upwardly away from the lower end of the sleeve, cam means including a spiral cam and a follower between said sleeve and said member for imparting a rotary movement to said member upon their relative longitudinal movement, said member having a passageway therethrough and around a stopper in its recessed portion for applying a suction to thereby withdraw the stopper from the bottle and into the recess and also evacuate air from the bottle, and means for bringing the cup-shaped element andthe bottle into engagement so that said inverted cup-shaped element is in engagement with the bottle and thereafter further urging the member longitudinally of the sleeve against the action of said spring means and toward the bottle to thereby rotate the stopper during its insertion in the bottle.

3. A bottle vaeuumizing and stoppering machine comprising a bottle support to receive a bottle having a prepositioned stopper therein, an upright sleeve mounted for movement downwardly toward the bottle and having an inverted cup-shaped element at its lower end to establish a vacuum tight engagement about the mouth of the bottle, a tubular member fitting within said sleeve and both rotatable and moveable longitudinally therein, said member having a recessed portion at its lower end to receive a stopper therein, spring means for biasing said member so its lower end is urged upwardly away from the lower end of the sleeve, cam means including a spiral cam and a follower between said sleeve and said member for imparting a rotary movement to said member upon their relative longitudinal movement, said member having a passageway therethrough and around a stopper in its recessed portion for applying a suction to thereby withdraw the stopper from the bottle and into the recess and also evacuate air from the bottle, means for moving the cup-shaped element and the member downwardly until the sleeve seals against the bottle and thereafter further urging the member downwardly and longitudinally through the sleeve against the action of said spring means to thereby rotate the stopper during its insertion in the bottle, and vacuum control means for applying a vacuum to the bottle after said cup-shaped element has established a seal with the neck of the bottle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,913,177 Underwood June 6, 1933 1,919,060 Harder July 18, 1933 1,978,095 Spahn Oct. 23, 1934 2,120,272 Williams et a1 June 14, 1938 2,126,942 Barnby Aug. 16, 1938 2,352,761 Bell July 4, 1944 2,406,771 Hughes Sept. 3, 1946 2,445,270 Hohl July 13, 1948 2,496,877 Krueger Feb. 7, 1950 2,510,457 Bheking June 6, 1950 

